Trawling gear



July 26, 1932. v J, c. MALCOLM 1,869,018

TRAWLING GEAR Filed May 3, 1950 [n l/anion John 6 Malcolm.

Atty.

Patented July 26, 1932 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE JOHN C. MALCOLM, O15WOLLASTON, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOB TO BAY STATE FISH- ING- COMPANY, OFBOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, A CORPORATION OF MASSACHUSETTS TRAWLING GEARApplication filed n a,

This invention relates to an improved form of net trawling gear, moreparticularly of the type which is provided with panels or doors toassist in holding the net open, and widening the area from which fishmay-be induced to pass into the mouth of the net.

The present invention affords an improved means of convenientlyconnecting the panels and net to the boat and to each other so that thegear may conveniently be drawn in to permit the emptying of the netwithout undue interference by the panels. To these ends, a tow hawsermay be provided which is connected to each panel and to a tow cablehaving its intermediate part connected to the net, while having one endconnected to'the tow haw'ser and the other end connected'to theback ofthe panel. Preferably the panel is detachably connected to the towhawser; accordingly the hawser may be drawn in and the paneldisconnected therefrom, whereupon continued movement of the tow cableresults in drawing the net to the boat so that the contents of the netmay be discharged without necessitating the disconnection of the'towcable-from the back of the panel, while there may be a permanentconnection between the hawser and the tow cable. This arrangementpermits the net towing strains to be divided between two sections of thetow cable, one of which is connected to the panel and the-other of whichis connected to the hawser and permits a part of the towing strains tobe imposed upon the panel and its connections while the re mainder ofthe same are received by the section of the towing cable that isdirectly connected to the hawser.

Preferably a short connection may be pro vided between the innerface ofthe panel and I the two cable which may include a short chain having aC-shaped element or hook at its end'which is engagea-blewith a ring atthe end of the hawser, this ring also perma nently engaging a link of achain which forms 19 0, Serial mfg-1 ,410.

a continuation of the tow cable. Preferably a bridle or substantiallytriangular able pulley block having a'grooved pulley receiving the cableso that the cable may readily move over the pulley as the net isbeingdrawn to the boa 1 In'the accompanying drawing:

Fig. 1 is a somewhat diagrammatic view of my improved trawlinggear,certain parts such as the panels and 'theirconnections'be ingexaggerated in sizefofr clarity of illustration; I

Fig; 2 is an enlarged top view'of the panel and the connections betweenthe same "and between thehawser and the tow rope,

Fig. 3 is an elevational View of the same; and V v nection betwen thecable and, net which readily permits relativemovement therebetween.

Referring to the accompanying drawing, and first more particularlytoFigurel, the

numeral 1 designates a boat to which my trawling gearmay be connected;this gear include's'a pair of tow hawsers 2 which have rings 3 at theirouter ends for connection to the panels and thetow rope. Each panel i 5and has the inner face of the end portion which is remote from the netprovided with means for connection to the tow hawser. Preferably forthis purpose apair of bridles or triangular metal elements 7 mayhave'pivf Fig. 4 is an elevational detail of the conmay be'provlded witha metal shoe or weight opposite end of chain 10 is secured to a C-shaped elementor hook 12 which is detachably engaged with the ring 3 atthe end of the tow hawser.

The tow cable 16 is provided with a continuation in the form of a shortchain 18 which is permanently connected to the ring 3. The intermediatepart of each tow cable 16 is received in a grooved pulley 19, Fig. 4,which is included in a pulley block 20 connected to the wing of the net21. This net may be of any suitable form, and as shown has an upperportion provided with floats 22 toaid in holding the mouth of the netopen.

Each tow cable also has a looped end portion 23 which may be permanentlyengaged with a triangular bridle 24: which is pivotally connected to theouter face of the panel 4 by means of metal elements25 which aredisposed near the end of the panel that is closer to the net. It-isevident that during the normal use of this trawling gear the boat 1 ismoving in the direction of the arrow of Fig. 1, and that the towinghawsers 2 are efiective in drawing both the panels 4 and the net 22, thebridles 7 and 24 being so disposed in relation to the hawser and cablethat the panels tincline forwardly and outwardly in relation to thedirection of boat movement and therefore are effective in holding themouth of the net open. A portion of the net towing strain is transmittedfrom each line 2 directly through its connection to the towing cable 16,while the. remainder ofthis strain is transmitted through thecorresponding panel 4E by means of its connections 7, 10 and 24 beingreceived by the portion of the towing cable that is connected to thepanel, thus, the towing cable has two portions which receive the nettowing strains.

When it is desired to draw the net inwardly to the boat, the hawsers 2are first drawn inwardly by any suitable means such as winches until theends of the hawsers are positioned so that the panels 4 may be supportedby suitable hoisting tackle or gallows, and the connections 12 thendisengaged from the rings 3. Each towing cable then substantially formsa continuation ofthe corresponding hawser and is drawn inwardly, eachpulley 19 permitting relative movement of thecable and net so that thenet is drawn inwardly until each pulley block is substantially in theregion of the end loop 23 of the cable whereu on the contents of the netmay be discharged.

When the net is again to be let out to resume its normalposition, thecables 16 are first unwound from the. winches until the rings3 arebrought into a position wherein they may again engage the connections12.

to be spaced from the boat and to resume their normal positions.

From the foregoing it is evident that I have provided a trawling geararrangement which permits the convenient discharge of the contents ofthe net without interference by the panels or doors 4: and that it isonly necessary to provide one detachable c0nnection for each towinghawser in order to permit the convenient operation of the device in themanner described above. Furthermore it is evident that this arrangementpermits the convenient manipulation of each hawser and the correspondingtowing cable as a single substantially continuous unit so that a singlewinch may be employed for drawing both of these elements onto the boat.Furthermore this arrangement permits the net towing strains to whicheach hawser is subjected to be divided between the two end portions ofthe towing cable, a part of this strain being transmitted directly fromthe hawser to the towing cable and the remainder thereof beingtransmitted through the panel and its connections.

I claim:

1. Trawling gear comprising a net, a pair of hawsers, a tow lineconnected to each hawser and having its intermediate part connected to aside of the net, a panel associated with each hawser, each tow linehaving one end connected to the end of a panel nearer the net, andhaving an end connected to the hawser, and a connection between theinner face of each panel and a hawser.

2. Trawling gear comprising a net, a pair of hawsers, a pair of towlines, each tow line having an end connected to the correspondinghawser, a panel associated with each hawser, a short connectionextending from the inner face of the panel to the hawser, a connectionbetween the hawser and one end of the tow line, and a connection betweenthe outer face of the panel and the other end of the tow line, theintermediate part of the tow line having a freely movable connectionwith the side of the net. r

3. Trawling gear comprising a net, a hawser for connection to a boat, apanel adjoining the end of the hawser, a detachable connection extendingfrom the inner face of the panelto the hawser end, a tow cable havingone end connected to the hawser and the other end joined to a connectionextending from the outer face of the panel, the intermediate part of thetow cable having a relatively movable connection with the net.

4. Trawling gear comprising a net, a tow hawser, a ring at the end ofthe hawser, a panel, a tow line having an end connected to the ring, adetachable connection between said ring and the inner face of the panel,the intermediate part of the tow line being mov-v ably connected to thenet, and the other end of the tow line having a permanent connectionwith the outer face of the portion of the panel which is nearer the net.

5. Trawling gear comprising a net, a tow hawser, a rin at the end of thehawser, a panel, a tow hne having one end connected to the ring and theother end connected to the panel, a net, a pulley secured to the net andreceiving the intermediate part of the tow line, and a line joined tothe inner face of the panel and detachably connected to the mug.

Signed by me at Boston, Massachusetts,.this' first day of May, 1930.

JOHN C. MALCOLM.

